


Prince Charming

by coreopsis



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-09-21
Updated: 2005-09-21
Packaged: 2017-10-15 03:26:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/156551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coreopsis/pseuds/coreopsis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's this bachelor auction...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prince Charming

**Author's Note:**

> AU written for the Harlequin Challenge on sga_flashfic at Astolat's request. Thanks to Nemoinis and Daraq for beta and handholding.

"Okay, since I'm obviously not getting through to you using words of more than one syllable, let me put it as simply as possible: No." Rodney crossed his arms and added, "And you can get out of my office now, unless you have something more worthwhile for me to waste my time on."

"Rodney, this _is_ worthwhile," said Carson with a long-suffering air, as if Rodney was being unreasonable or something. "This fundraiser is very important to the hospital. I need the funding for my research. It's for...the children."

"Please. I don't even like children. Surely you know plenty of other suckers--"

"No, I don't. A lot of my friends have gotten married lately. The well is running dry. I'll be participating myself."

"A bachelor auction. What's next, naked maid service?"

"You only have to go out on a date with the lucky--" Carson almost choked on the word. "The lucky lady who wins you."

"Very funny. I'm sure some woman will be thrilled to find her 'bachelor' isn't even interested."

"Well, it's not _limited_ to women. There could be men who bid too." Carson smiled encouragingly. "You might even find your very own Prince Charming."

Rodney snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh, please."

Carson leaned forward in his seat and gave Rodney the big puppy dog eyes. "Rodney, my research depends on you."

"You know I hate you, right?" Rodney gave in as graciously as he knew how. "I just want to make that clear. Also, you've used up ten years' worth of favors."

Carson beamed. "You won't regret it."

 

***

Standing in the ballroom of a fancy-schmancy downtown hotel a week and half later, Rodney already regretted giving into Carson's pathetic manipulations. He was dressed in a tuxedo, being slowly strangled by his bow tie, and he was doing it for the children. Right. What a brilliant waste of his precious time. Time that could be spent working on wormhole theory. His pet project had been consuming his life for so many months that he couldn't remember either the last time he'd been on a date or the last time he'd even thought about going on a date.

And now here he was about to be sold to the highest bidder. Some rich woman old enough to be his mother, most likely. Too unattractive to get a real date and desperate enough to pay for one, yet too proud to just cut to the chase and hire a gigolo.

Carson walked up with a couple other bachelors in tow and Rodney smirked. "Hey, Radek, I see he got you too."

"It could be fun," said Radek with a shrug.

"See, Rodney? Radek has the right attitude." Carson motioned to the other man he'd brought along. "This is Peter Grodin. He's a systems analyst. That should give you something to talk about while you wait for the auction to start."

Rodney looked at Peter who looked back with a bemused smile, then he rolled his eyes and allowed Carson to herd him into a backstage area along with the others.

After Rodney had been introduced to a policeman named Bates, a resident named Markham, and a cheery young man named Ford who declined to say what he did for a living, he decided he'd had about enough of this. He nodded to Radek and then slipped out the door into a corridor that eventually took him to one of the bars in the hotel.

"Beer, please," he told the bartender, not even bothering to sit down. "Whatever you've got that's Canadian."

"Missing home?" The voice was relaxed and warm and made Rodney think of sex in a vaguely disjointed way before he even turned to look at the man who'd spoken. A half-smirky smile tilted cock-sucking lips and hazel eyes promised sinful things. Funny that Rodney had just been thinking of gigolos and now here was one right in front of him. "You sound Canadian."

"Yeah," Rodney snorted and shoved some money at the bartender. He took a deep swig of his beer and motioned impatiently at the pretty gigolo in his designer suit. "Look, I'm sure you're very good at what you do-- I mean, it's obviously paying off for you--but I'm not really interested. I've already got plans for this hellish evening."

The man's expressive eyebrows rose almost into his equally-expressive hair, that seemed to be going in three directions at once. Rodney wasn't sure what that hair was trying to say, but it was saying it quite vehemently. "Flying?"

"What?"

"That's what I do. I'm a pilot." The man smiled almost sweetly and Rodney had to remind himself that he'd promised Carson he'd do this stupid auction, so he couldn't just skip off with a pretty gig--pilot he picked up in the bar. "And I do think I'm pretty good at it."

"How wonderful for you," said Rodney dryly and drank some more beer.

"Why is your evening going to be hellish?" The man nodded at Rodney's tux. "You going to a wedding or something? You're not the groom, are you?"

"In this country? Hardly." Rodney fiddled with the napkin under his glass and admitted, "Although, even in Canada, I'm not the marrying kind. My relationships always seem to end without my noticing. I just come home to an empty apartment and a note and...why am I telling you this?"

"I just seem inherently trustworthy?"

"No, that's not it. I thought you were a gigolo at first."

The man choked on his drink and Rodney reached out to pat him on the back. He didn't know if that would actually help but he got to touch a good-looking guy, so it was something to do. And the smooth play of muscle underneath expensive fabric would be a nice memory to take with him while he was dining with some shriveled up society crone later.

"Thanks, you can stop beating me now," said the man, waving his hand in Rodney's direction.

"Oh. Yes, sorry." Rodney jerked his hand back and finished off his beer. A glance at his watch told him that it was almost time for the auction to start anyway. His reprieve was over, so it was back to the lion's den with him.

As he walked out of the bar, he glanced back over his shoulder to see the man watching him, his legs splayed open as he straddled his barstool in an almost obscene manner. If Rodney hadn't known better, he'd have thought he was being cruised.

***

Rodney hated every bit of this and cursed Carson for talking him into it, but as his turn on the auction block approached, he found himself feeling anxious. They were going in alphabetical order, so he was next to last. Radek didn't seem to be worried about what price he'd bring, but Rodney had heard the high numbers Bates and Carson and Ford had brought, and now the bidding on Grodin sounded pretty spirited. Dr. Biro, the woman running the thing made a sly remark about how Grodin filled out his tux and the numbers went even higher.

Rodney collapsed into a chair and covered his face with a groan. "This is lunacy. I'm a genius who does very important work. I should not be taking part in such a barbaric three ring circus."

"Cheer up, sir," said Markham, from his position at the edge of the stage. "I'm sure you'll get lots of bids."

"Such a nice young man," Radek murmured so that only Rodney could hear him. "Such a nice handsome athletic young man. This, this might be a mistake after all."

"You too?" Rodney sighed and sat back. Knowing that Radek was also feeling a little inadequate made Rodney feel much better. "I thought you were totally relaxed about all this."

"I was, but now..." Radek lifted one shoulder and made a complicated gesture with one hand that only made sense to someone who knew him pretty well, so Rodney nodded.

"Yeah. The waiting is only making it worse."

When Biro announced his name, Markham gave them both a cheery wave and pushed the curtain open. He bounded on stage like an energetic puppy to a wave of appreciative applause. Rodney and Radek just stared at each other in dismay.

 

***

"Dr. Rodney McKay!"

Rodney took a deep breath and nodded at Radek who nodded back solemnly. He walked up the steps onto the stage as if it was the green mile. He stopped on the strip of tape on the floor, and stared out at the crowd. The lights at the foot of the stage were so bright he couldn't see more than a few feet but he could hear the lukewarm applause just fine.

Biro hissed "smile," at him with her hand over her microphone, and Rodney managed a half-hearted grimace that might pass as a smile if the audience was either legally blind or completely brain dead.

The bidding got off to a rocky start with only a few lackluster offers until Biro started listing his credentials. By the time she got to his second doctorate, a male voice called out "Five thousand."

Rodney squinted into the crowd but couldn't see where the bid had come from.

"I have five thousand, can I get six?"

A hand went up and Rodney caught a glimpse of a tiny Asian woman with big glasses before the crowd shifted slightly and he lost her.

"Six, how about seven?" Biro waved a hand at Rodney, which he ignored. She covered her mike and whispered, "Turn around and give them a show."

"Oh, _right_." Rodney didn't bother to whisper and several people near the front of the stage laughed. He turned around slowly, feeling ridiculous.

"That's seven? Yes, I've got seven with the gentleman in the back. Do I hear eight?" The little Asian woman's hand shot up out of the crowd. "Eight. Do I hear nine? Yes, sir, I see you. How about ten?"

The little hand waved energetically, but before Biro could even accept the bid, that male voice called out, "Fifteen."

"Thank you, sir. The bid is fifteen." Biro smiled at the Asian woman encouragingly, but after moment, she nodded. "Okay, fifteen thousand for Dr. Rodney McKay, going once...going twice...sold."

Rodney just stood there for a moment stunned that someone was actually willing to pay fifteen thousand dollars to go on a date with him. The man was obviously a very discerning buyer who prized brains over brawn or beauty, but still...fifteen thousand. He was vaguely aware of Biro hissing at him again, and he remembered what he was supposed to do next. With a smile that was not forced in the least, he walked across the stage and down the steps at the opposite side from where he'd entered.

The pretty not-a-gigolo from the bar was waiting for him with a smile that oozed charm and smug satisfaction. "I never got a chance to introduce myself earlier." The man held out his hand for Rodney to shake. "John Sheppard."

Rodney took his hand-- lightly callused, long fingers, strong grip--and said, "I didn't know pilots made such good money."

"Oh, I guess I didn't mention that I own the company." John trailed his fingertips over the back of Rodney's hand as he turned him loose. He tilted his head down and glanced up from under his lashes in a move that would have looked incredibly calculated if it wasn't so hot. Actually, it still looked calculated but the hotness made Rodney not care. "And I probably didn't mention that I also design the planes."

Rodney gurgled slightly, then cleared his throat. "You're smart, too? Great." He was completely screwed. There was no way this would end well. He'd fall in love with John before the first course had even arrived, and then John would have to let him down easily when he realized that he'd wasted his fifteen thousand dollars on a workaholic who could barely maintain a relationship with his cat, much less another human being.

"Ready to go to dinner?" John asked, holding out his arm like a prom date. Rodney looked down at the arm he was being offered and then back at John, who shrugged and laughed. "It was worth a shot."

"Yes, let's get out of here." Rodney was halfway to the door with John trailing a step behind, when a thought occurred to him and he stopped. "Don't you have to, you know, pay...for me?"

"They know I'm good for it. I'll send the check over in the morning." Looking Rodney up and down slowly, John amended, "Afternoon."

"I'll have you know that I'm not...a...a..."

"Gigolo?" John laughed again and the sound was so warm and inviting that Rodney couldn't take offense.

"Yes, exactly." Rodney smiled and generously offered to let John lead the way.

Instead of heading for the hotel's restaurant, John walked into the elevator. Once Rodney was inside with him, he inserted a key and pushed the button for the penthouse. "I thought we'd have room service, if that's okay with you."

"You got the part about how I'm not easy, right?"

"I did get that," John said seriously, but Rodney could see a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. "I just thought there'd be less pressure without a lot of people around watching."

"Ah. Good. Good idea, yes." Rodney cracked his neck and pulled at his tie. It came undone and he just left it dangling.

"Yeah, we might as well get comfortable." John loosened his own tie and opened the top button of his shirt. The elevator doors opened on the foyer of the penthouse suite, and John stepped out, stripping off his tie and opening another button on his shirt. As he led Rodney into the living room, the jacket went next, tossed onto a chair and giving Rodney a nice view of John's trim little ass as he bent over to take a bottle from the bottom shelf of the bar.

Rodney walked over to the windows that gave a panoramic view of the city and noticed that he could see his apartment building from here, even though it was a good twenty blocks away. The lights were pretty from this high up, but not nearly as pretty as his date. He turned back and gave John a smile. "So, do you buy dates often?"

A discreet chime sounded from the elevator and John smiled. "Sounds like dinner's here."

 

***

Appetizers were consumed in near silence after Rodney made John test the shrimp for any hint of citrus, so by the time they tucked into the main course, Rodney was determined to make conversation somehow.

"Do you live here or what?" Rodney slid a bite of steak between his teeth and waved his fork at the luxurious suite. The delicately seasoned meat almost melted in his mouth and for a moment he didn't care if John answered or not.

"No, I have a house on the beach." John tilted his head and the light from the lamp behind him limned his neck in gold, making Rodney forget about food and think about licking John's throat instead. He crammed a large forkful of potato into his mouth in order to avoid inadvertently voicing that thought. "I was just trying to impress you."

"Impress your acquisition, you mean." Rodney raised his eyebrows expectantly.

John shrugged and said nothing, but his eyes crinkled with amusement as he took a bite of his own dinner.

After several minutes, Rodney sighed. "What do people talk about on dates with people who aren't physicists? I haven't been on one in so long, I've forgotten."

"Read any good books lately?" John asked, and when Rodney stared at him blankly, he added, "Neil Gaiman has a new book coming out soon."

"The last fiction I read was..." Rodney hummed and thought about it. "William Gibson and that was a while ago."

"Okay. So what I've learned about you so far. You're a workaholic with a taste for cyberpunk who gets talked into doing things he really doesn't want to even though he usually has no problem telling people where to stick it." John smiled as if he'd given Rodney a compliment. "That sound about right?"

"It's not too far off. You forgot brilliant astrophysicist who strikes fear and envy into the hearts of many." Rodney grinned. "And I've learned that you like airplanes and urban fantasy and spending lots of money on completely ridiculous things like bachelor auctions."

"And I'm not a gigolo," John reminded him.

"I probably couldn't afford you anyway." Rodney snickered and pushed his plate away. He uncovered the dessert tray and took a slice of chocolate cake topped with fresh strawberries for himself and then set a plate of cake in front of John.

After a couple of minutes, John asked, "But would you if you could?"

Rodney looked up and licked a bit of chocolate frosting off his bottom lip. John's eyes tracked the movement and then he looked Rodney in the eye, waiting for an answer. Rodney blinked. "Umm...what?"

"If you could afford me, would you buy my services?"

Rodney swallowed hard and nodded.

With a sly smile, John took an exceedingly obscene bite out of a plump strawberry, making Rodney's mouth water and his dick twitch. As a distraction to keep from leaping over the table and sucking John's tongue into his mouth, Rodney brought up the question that John hadn't answered a while before. "Speaking of buying things, you don't look like the kind of guy who has to pay ludicrous sums of money to get someone to go out with him, so what's with the bachelor auction?"

"After I saw you in the bar and I figured out why you were here in the hotel dressed as you were--a leap, I have to admit, but it turned out to be right. Anyway, after that, I decided to use the invitation I'd gotten, even though I hadn't planned to." John took a sip of his wine before continuing. "I was going to just have a drink and go home after my meeting, but then..." He shrugged. "It was an impulse."

"An impulse?" Rodney set his fork down so he could gape at John with his full attention. "You spent fifteen thousand dollars, plus--" He motioned at the remains of the meal spread out on the table between them.

"You don't want to know."

"--all this and the penthouse suite on an _impulse_? Are you insane?"

"Nope." John slouched against the back of his chair, one hand hooked gracefully around his wine glass. "Last time I checked, I was of sound mind and body."

"Well, maybe you should check again," said Rodney before he stopped to think about it.

John gave him an amused smile and looked down at himself. "No, pretty sound, I'd say."

"Yeah, me too." Rodney sighed and finished off his wine.

 

***

Once the waiter had brought coffee and taken away the dinner dishes, Rodney was on the humming, buzzing brink of arousal. His face felt warm, and although he wasn't hard, he knew he could be in an instant if John so much as touched him. He hoped John touched him soon, but the irritating man was just sitting over on the other side of the table, as calm and relaxed as anything. Rodney's knee started to bounce and he gripped his cup a little too tightly in order to steady his hand.

"You know...we could move over to the sofa and make out," John said thoughtfully, running the tip of his finger delicately around the edge of his coffee cup. "But that might not be very respectful since you're not easy."

"Yes, I am." Rodney slapped his hand over his mouth and closed his eyes. Why had he just blurted it out like that? It was true, but he could play hard to get. But really, who was he kidding? No, he couldn't play hard to get and he had little patience for other people who tried. He opened his eyes to see John looking at him with that same damned amused expression that he'd worn all night and it was starting to wear on Rodney's nerves. He wondered what he'd have to do to wipe it off.

"Well, then." John folded his napkin and laid it on the table next to his plate. He scooted his chair back and stood up, holding his hand out. "Come on, Rodney, don't think...just do it."

Rodney never thought he'd appreciate a sneaker company slogan, but it certainly seemed appropriate at the moment. He shoved his chair back, stood up, and took John's hand. John walked backward toward the sofa, keeping his eyes on Rodney for every step.

Rodney's mental monologue went a little something like: _Why's he looking at me like that? Why does he want me? He must really be attracted to intelligence. He doesn't even know me. I don't know him. He could be a freak or a serial killer who preys on lonely geniuses and then steals their cats for his collection. But, oh, he's so hot and his hand fits perfectly in mine and really good sex could make up for any freakishness...probably. I'll bet he rolled up his sleeves just to taunt me with his perfect forearms and sexy wrists and who has sexy wrists anyway? He keeps smirking all the time and that can't be good. Can it? He's just... Oh, that's...oh my..._

John sprawled back on the puffy cushions of the sofa and pulled Rodney down next to him. "You can keep one foot on the floor if it'll make you feel like a good girl."

Rodney snorted a laugh and grabbed the front of John's shirt in a tight grip and leaned into him. "Bad girls have more fun."

"True." Anything else John might have said was lost in Rodney's mouth, and soon John's tongue was easing inside tentatively, almost as if he wanted to give Rodney a chance to say no. As if Rodney would.

Rodney opened his mouth and loosened his grip on John's shirt so he could spread his fingers out across John's chest--his very firm and lightly hairy chest from what Rodney could feel through the fine cotton of his shirt. He didn't know quite what to do with his other hand, so he used it to brace himself against the back of the sofa while he learned the shape and feel of John's kisses--firm and sweet and wonderfully focused. Rodney felt like he was the only thing on John's mind, which was a rare occurrence when most of his lovers had been as driven and given to mental multi-tasking as he was.

John's hands lightly gripped Rodney's shoulders at first, then one slid around to the back of his neck, cradling his head gently. John's mouth moved slowly on his, never rushing or pushing to get to the next thing. John seemed to enjoy kissing for its own sake and not just as a necessary step to something more sexual and Rodney enjoyed it too. Just sitting against each other, sharing breath and the taste of coffee and strawberries fading into nothing but John's mouth and Rodney's sliding together, parting for air, and then coming together again.

Rodney moved his hand down John's chest, skimming over the hard point of a nipple and easing down his rib cage toward his waist, wanting to go further south but unsure if that was too quick since John was keeping his own hands in the relative safety zone of Rodney's shoulders and neck. It occurred to Rodney that perhaps he actually was the bad girl in this situation, insofar as either of them was a girl which was really, really not the case. John was very definitely masculine and Rodney's cock was nearly hard enough to drive nails with so, no. No girls here.

Rodney pulled back enough to lean his forehead on John's shoulder and started laughing. Or possibly he was giggling hysterically. In any case, John rubbed his back and pressed his lips to the side of Rodney's head. "Okay, that's an interesting response," said John quietly when Rodney began to calm down.

"Yeah, sorry," Rodney said and raised his head with a sheepish smile.

"Wow, you really are Canadian, aren't you?" John rubbed his hands over the breadth of Rodney's shoulders, an admiring tilt to his head. "There's nothing to apologize for. Unless you're trying to say I'm a laughable kisser."

"No, no, not that at all." Rodney licked his lips and sat up straight. He'd been twisted into a position that wasn't doing his back any favors. "I know I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but I can't help wondering why..." Rodney waved a hand at the suite and everything that it represented. "Why me? Why all this? You could have anyone with a lot less effort."

"You saying I'm slutty?" John shook his head before Rodney could answer. "Within the first twenty seconds I laid eyes on you down in the bar, I knew you had what I like. You say what you're thinking instead of whatever's polite, and that is incredibly rare these days. Especially once you get a couple bucks in the bank. Everyone falls all over themselves to tell you what they think you want to hear. It's refreshing to meet someone who doesn't."

"It's refreshing to be called a gigolo?" Rodney asked incredulously. "You are easy to please."

"It helps that your shoulders look really great in that tux, and although I haven't gotten a good look, I'll bet your ass does too. You've got that kind of build." John shrugged and gave him a rueful closed-mouthed smile. "I'm only human."

Rodney looked John over, lingering on the way his pants pulled tight across his lap, making his interest very clear. "Yeah, me too."

"So...don't you wanna...?" John shifted closer, and slid his hands inside Rodney's jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. Once Rodney had shaken his jacket the rest of the way off, John hooked his fingers just at either side of Rodney's shirt collar and smoothed his palms across Rodney's shoulders and down to curl around his biceps. "Oh, yeah. You've got good arms too. You work out?"

"No." Rodney tried to snort derisively but it just came out sounding breathy and turned on. "I...umm...move equipment around the labs sometimes." John dropped a hand down to Rodney's thigh and squeezed lightly, as if testing the muscles. "And climb a lot of stairs. That...that kind of thing."

"It's working," John said, his gaze still on Rodney's legs. Rodney knew if John looked a little higher he'd see just how well John's hands were working, and he wanted John to notice. He wanted John to do something about it already, and then it was as if John had read his mind. "Would it be too forward to suggest we get naked already? This being a first date and all?"

"No, I...no." Rodney cleared his throat and tried to speak again without that embarrassing squeak. "We could do that."

"We should probably move into the bedroom," John said and pulled Rodney up with him as he got to his feet. Rodney started undoing the studs on his shirt as he went but John grabbed his hand. "Wait. Let me do that."

The master bedroom was unlike anywhere Rodney had ever been. The artwork and fabrics were as luxurious as those in the rest of the penthouse, but it was the bed that really took all his attention. It was a shimmering blue lake in the center of the room, twice as wide as his bed at home and piled with a mountain of pillows. The head and footboard were real antique cherry instead of the veneered particle board that graced the kind of hotels Rodney usually stayed in.

John looked from the bed to Rodney and grinned. "Think we'll run out of pillows?"

"Why? What are you going to do with them?"

"I'm sure we'll think of something." John turned and took Rodney's face in his hands, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "Now let's get you out of these clothes."

"We're moving pretty fast here," Rodney felt compelled to point out for some insane reason.

"Is that a problem?" John asked absently, his nimble fingers making short work of Rodney's shirt.

He knelt to untie Rodney's shoes and slip them off, and Rodney put a hand on John's shoulder for balance. "No, just making an observation."

"Mm." John pulled off Rodney's socks and then slipped his hands inside his pants legs and ran his fingertips over the curves of Rodney's calves. "I guess you do that a lot, you scientists. Feel free to continue...observing, experimenting, theorizing... _hypothesizing_."

Rodney shifted as John tickled the back of his knee and then withdrew his hands so that he could open Rodney's fly. By the time John got Rodney's pants and boxers on the floor and Rodney's cock in his mouth, Rodney knew that forming sentences was beyond him. With the way blood was flowing away from his head and settling in his groin, he doubted he'd be able to form words either.

John circled Rodney's hips and then slid his hands over his ass, massaging and squeezing in time with the licks across the head of his cock. Rodney ran his fingers through John's hair and petted his ears and stroked his neck. When John finally slid his hot wet mouth over the head and down the shaft of Rodney's cock, swallowing as he went, Rodney babbled something that might not have even been English and came with a massive shudder that shook him to his core. The sight and feel of his cock pulsing between John's flushed lips would fuel Rodney's fantasies for months if not years to come. He shuddered again and wrapped his hands around the back of John's head.

***

Rodney lay back on the sinfully soft sheets and watched John take his clothes off, which he did with the same air of vague amusement he did almost everything. His confidence level seemed just about right for Rodney's taste. John obviously knew he looked good but it didn't appear to have gone to his head too much. He could have made a big show of stripping for Rodney, but he didn't and Rodney was glad. He really didn't need any teasing right now. He just wanted John to get naked and get over here so Rodney could touch him.

After finally dropping his boxers, John climbed onto the bed and straddled Rodney on his hands and knees. He dropped teasing kisses all over Rodney's face until Rodney caught his mouth and took the kisses deeper and harder. He ran his hands over John's chest while their mouths played, licking and nipping and taking turns sucking on each other's bottom lip.

When John lowered his body against Rodney's, Rodney braced his hands on John's waist and turned them over so that John was sprawled out under him. For a moment, Rodney pulled back and just looked down at him. John had implied that Rodney was his type, but Rodney couldn't have picked a better example of his type than John. The wiry limbs and lean hips, the lightly freckled shoulders, the graceful hands and wrists, the long lickable neck...even the hair scattered over his torso was just right, enough to be attractively masculine but not so much that Rodney felt like he was snuggling with Sasquatch.

John watched him with narrowed eyes, his lips parted invitingly, his chest rising with each quickened breath. Rodney continued to look at him for a long moment, and then he lowered himself to the bed so that he could touch John with his hands and mouth instead of just his eyes. He ran his fingers along the smooth skin of John's biceps and nuzzled the side of neck. The clean warm scent of John's hair and the faint sea breeze of his fading aftershave filled Rodney's head as he licked at the light sheen of sweat on John's throat.

John made a desperate sound in the back of his throat and twisted his hips so that he could rub his erection against Rodney's hip. The head left a damp smear on Rodney's skin and he knew that John was close. He reached down and took John's cock in his hand, stroking from base to tip and then back again and again as John grabbed his arm with both hands and arched his hips into Rodney's grip.

With a shuddery breath, John bucked his hips hard once and then stiffened as he came on his belly. Rodney rubbed his hand over John's stomach and smiled when John made a contented purring sound and pulled Rodney down for a kiss.

They kissed lazily for a while, just enjoying the afterglow and each other's company. Rodney closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against John's shoulder and sighed with contentment. He hadn't felt this relaxed and peaceful in a very long time, and to feel it with a stranger should have unnerved him, but it didn't for some reason. In some weird way, John didn't feel like a stranger, instead he felt...comfortable.

John smoothed his hand over Rodney's hair and then sat up and pulled the covers up over them both. Then he lay back down and tilted his head to look into Rodney's face. "You'll still be here in the morning, right?" he asked, one eyebrow arched high. "I mean, you're not gonna pull a Cinderella on me, are you?"

"No, of course not," said Rodney, sleepily indignant. "Do you have any idea how uncomfortable glass shoes must be? Besides, who says you get to be Prince Charming? Maybe I'm--"

John pressed his lips to Rodney's, shutting him up in the best way possible. "Good night, Rodney."

"I could be, you know," Rodney muttered, but he did roll over and turn off the lamp. Then he settled back down next to John and immediately drifted off to sleep.

 

***

 

Slowly coming awake the next morning, Rodney opened his eyes to find John lying on his side, his head propped up on one hand, watching Rodney with a pensive expression. Rodney realized that this was the first time he'd seen John completely unguarded. He'd not even realized how tall the walls of surface charm actually were until they came down. He was afraid to speak and shatter the moment, but John took care of it for him.

"Do you believe in destiny?" John's voice was deep and rough with sleep, even though his eyes were bright and alert. "That certain things happen because they're supposed to and no matter what choices we make they'll happen anyway?"

"Uh...no? No, not really." Rodney rubbed his eyes and tried to articulate something he'd always taken for granted. "I think we make our own destiny. Other people's actions have an effect, of course, but we're ultimately the masters of our own fate."

John opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again. He looked at Rodney for a long moment, and then in the space of a blink, the walls went up and the charming smile was back. "Yeah, you're probably right. Can I see you again?"

"Yes," Rodney said, not even having to think about it. "I'd like that."

"When? Tonight?" John's legs shifted closer under the covers, one bent knee brushing lightly against Rodney's. "I know it's short notice for a Saturday night, so if you already have plans, I understand."

Rodney was torn over admitting that the only plans he'd had involved watching a movie with his cat and possibly working on some papers for various scientific journals. He could make up a prior engagement so as not to look like a loser, but then he'd be missing out a chance to see John again and possibly have some of the amazing sex that happened in that magical window between the fumbling uncertainty of the first time and the complacency that signaled that the end was near.

"I had some plans, yes, but nothing that can't be rescheduled." Rodney smiled with a hint of smugness over being able to straddle the line between lie and truth. "What did you have in mind?"

"We'll think of something," John said, semi-smirky charm back at full force.

 

***

After going home to change his clothes and feed his cat, Rodney went to work for a while because that was what he'd planned to do anyway. He tried to go over data from the simulations he'd run the day before, but he kept thinking of John's eyes or his smile or remembering the feel of his body pressed hard against Rodney's.

He finally sat back in his chair and gave up the pretense of working, so he was staring into space when a knock on his open door brought him out of his day dreams. He spun his chair around to find Radek Zelenka standing in the doorway, unshaven and bleary eyed. "How did it go last night?"

"It was..." Rodney grinned. "Amazing."

"That would explain the--" Radek raised one hand and twisted his fingers in one of his toss-away gestures. "--distraction, yes? I don't think I've ever seen your screensaver before. Flying toasters? I expected better of you."

"Yeah, yeah, just tell me what happened with you." Rodney waved impatiently at him. "Who'd you get? Some really old lady?"

"No, she was not old. She was lovely." Radek's whole face lit up and he came inside the room and sat down in the extra chair. "She's a diplomat in town for a series of lectures at the university. She has traveled extensively and we spoke of Prague together. She speaks five languages but no Czech. She says maybe I can teach her."

"She sounds perfect for you," said Rodney sincerely, but he was already losing interest in Radek's love life. His own was much more fascinating, since he seemed to actually have one for a change.

"So you think you'll see mister amazing guy again?"

"I'm seeing him again tonight." Rodney grinned and rubbed his hands together anxiously.

"Oh? Where are you going?"

"I have no idea," admitted Rodney. "He told me to leave it up to him. He's picking me up at my place in a few hours."

"And you are here?" Radek shook his head and left the office muttering under his breath.

Rodney realized that Radek was right and he could be staring off in to space and thinking about licking John's shoulder blades at home just as easily as he could do it here. He put his equipment into sleep mode and locked up his office behind him.

 

***

 

The buzzer rang at 5:30 on the dot. John was punctual as well as smart, rich, and good-looking, and Rodney decided the man must have some hideous flaw in his character somewhere to make up for it all. Rodney hit the button to let John in and then raced into the bathroom for one last check in the mirror. He'd showered again and taken extra care with his shaving. He'd even found a dusty bottle of Old Spice that his sister had sent him--perhaps under the mistaken assumption that she was sending it to their father-- four Christmases ago and splashed a little on. He'd washed it off immediately afterward, then changed his mind and slapped it on again.

When John knocked on the door, Rodney tripped over the cat trying to get to it so he was a little breathless and irritated when he opened the door, but one look at John took all the irritation away. He remained breathless.

John was dressed in a long-sleeved black pullover and loose-fitting black pants that made him look long and lean, even leaner than he actually was. The zippered collar was open a few inches, giving Rodney a good view of the hollow at the base of John's throat. Rodney knew exactly what that spot tasted like and just the memory was making his mouth water. He swallowed and gave John an uncertain smile. "You look...and I..." Rodney indicated his jeans and button-down oxford that suddenly didn't seem good enough. "You said casual so I--"

John stepped forward and brushed his lips over Rodney's and smiled. "You look great."

"Oh." Rodney realized they were standing in his doorway where any of his neighbors could see. For just an instant, he wished one of them would come out and see him kissing John, but then sanity returned and he stepped back inside and invited John in with a sweep of his hand.

John stepped inside and headed straight for the cat that was now stretched regally out on the back of the sofa as if she hadn't just tried to kill her owner a few minutes before. "Let me guess," John said with a teasing look over his shoulder. "His name's Einstein or Heisenberg or...no, not Schrödinger. You wouldn't be that cheesy."

"Her. And no, I didn't get to name her. Her name is Muffy." Rodney rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. I've tried to change it but she refuses to answer to anything else."

"So she's just as strong-minded as her owner," said John, unknowingly echoing what the veterinarian had said. But coming from John, it didn't sound like an insult.

"Yeah." Rodney watched John's long fingers gently stroke Muffy's head and then rub her tummy when she rolled over and presented her plump belly to him. "I'm surprised she hasn't tried to take a chunk out of your hand yet. She's usually very territorial."

"I guess she can tell I'm not a threat." John's voice was soft and light, but he shot a hungry look at Rodney that had him seriously rethinking this whole date idea. He'd rather just drag John into his bedroom and not let him out for the rest of the weekend. But maybe actually talking to John for a few hours before having sex would help him figure out how get those walls down again. The brief glimpse he'd gotten this morning wouldn't leave him alone. "If you're ready, we should probably get going so we can make our reservations."

"Yes, I'm ready." Rodney picked up his keys off the table by the door. He was _so_ ready.

 

***

John's car was a black convertible, small, sleek and low to the ground. When he started it up, the engine purred like Muffy when she's decided that three in the morning is the perfect time to settle in the middle of Rodney's chest and demand affection, only multiplied by a hundred. Rodney ordinarily took an extremely pragmatic view of vehicles. He didn't name them or pet them or attribute personality traits to them. He only asked that they get him from one place to another in one piece and for a reasonable amount of gas mileage. But as they zipped onto the freeway with the wind blowing their hair in all directions, he could see that this car suited John perfectly.

John had swept him away and Rodney laughed as a thought occurred to him.

"I've changed my mind. You do get to be Prince Charming," he told John, who looked at him incredulously and then laughed. "But I'm still not going to be Cinderella."

"That works for me," said John. And they drove off into the sunset.

 

The end.


End file.
